Arulius Barbs

[mattlee]

after much thought of what i could keep with my oscar (keith) i stumbled accross these barbs in an lfs today.....

they really caught my eye and the colours were amazing and the fact that they get to a decent 4.5 inches is a big bonus as they will get bigger than keiths mouth

has anyone else kept these barbs before?

if so what can you tell me about them......?

ill get some pics up asap and hopefully they will colour up just as nice as they look really drab on googles pics

 

[RushingChamp28]

Arulius barbs are a fantastic fish that I have kept for quite some time, and are fairly easy to keep too, the biggest concern is a large enough tank to house them. I have never kept them with an oscar though, so I don't want to advise on that part though.

As far as temperature, these fish are fairly flexible, and can be kept in some cooler tanks (not unheated tanks, but upper 60s F) but seem to do best in the mid 70s in my own experience.

Hardness is not a huge concern, they are fairly adaptable to most water conditions as long as it is not extreme.

In my experience most barbs like neutral/slightly acidic water but they can tolerate some alkaline water if necessary. Again, nothing extreme, I would recommend within 6.5 to 7.5 range.

Feeding should be easy, they are omnivores like the majority of barb species and should get a good flake/pellet diet with some live/frozen food mixed in (blood worms/brine shrimp/etc). Of course, being omnivores, these are not the ideal candidate for any sort of planted tank - your plants will become expensive fish food.

Ideally, I would keep these fish in a group of about 8 to 12+ fish. They look great in a large group and seem to be much more comfortable/colorful with a larger shoal. This does however require a massive tank especially with other fish as well.

Overall, a great and easy to keep fish, it would not be ridiculous to expect them upwards of 5 years with proper care, approaching 10.

As a side note, many times P. aruilius and P. tambraparniei are confused/referred to as the same fish. The easiest way to determine the difference is with the mature male P. tambraparniei, you will see extended dorsal rays on the male species, very similar to P. filamentosa.

Let me know if you have any questions.

after much thought of what i could keep with my oscar (keith) i stumbled accross these barbs in an lfs today.....

they really caught my eye and the colours were amazing and the fact that they get to a decent 4.5 inches is a big bonus as they will get bigger than keiths mouth

has anyone else kept these barbs before?

if so what can you tell me about them......?

ill get some pics up asap and hopefully they will colour up just as nice as they look really drab on googles pics

 

[mattlee]

yeah the males have the extended dorsal fins

they dont seem too interested in food at the minute though.... ive tried flake and prima and they are more interested in squabbling amongst themselves

 

[mattlee]

my barbs still arent interested in food so im a little worried now

they have been in my tank for3-4 days now and dont seem to go for prima, flake etc.... i tried them last night on bloodworm which they tried a bit of but still not enough to make me satisfied

they seem healthy enough and have now coloured up nicely but just wont eat anything!

ive never known any fish not to go mad for bloodworm or prima

 

[RushingChamp28]

Some fish can take some time to adjust to new surroundings, but 3-4 days is a little bothersome.

You mention they are eating SOME bloodworms? Are they mouthing food and appearing to be "unable" to swallow and spit it out?

There could be lots of reasons the fish are not eating completely. To be safe, you should go through the same sort of usual troubleshooting routine:

Ammonia/nitrIte/nitrAte/pH/temperature???

How many did you buy?
In what size tank (I don't recall you mentioning that)?
How is the oscar/barb interaction going?

my barbs still arent interested in food so im a little worried now

they have been in my tank for3-4 days now and dont seem to go for prima, flake etc.... i tried them last night on bloodworm which they tried a bit of but still not enough to make me satisfied

they seem healthy enough and have now coloured up nicely but just wont eat anything!

ive never known any fish not to go mad for bloodworm or prima

 

[mattlee]

water stats are fine no issues there.

the tank is 6.5x2x2 so plenty big enough for them.

i have a group of 9 barbs.

they ate a few bloodworms and didnt spit them out but they just dont seem interested in food.... the prima floats past them and they just ignore it as with the other foods ive tried

they are very active and constantly squabbling with each other and the oscar doesnt bother them hes not interested.

 

[mattlee]

most of the barbs have white tips on their mouths and some are worse than others im now thinking that these fish arent well. they refused brine shrimp today

i hope what ever it is it doesnt spread to my others.... typically these are the only fish i have not quarentined before adding them to the tank

trying to catch them will be a right mission

 

[mattlee]

i suspect columnaris.....

so the barbs have now been removed and put in a spare tank.

i hope its not and the other fish are ok

 

[RushingChamp28]

i suspect columnaris.....

so the barbs have now been removed and put in a spare tank.

i hope its not and the other fish are ok

Any chance you could get a picture?

F. columnaris and related bacterial diseases are a fairly common infections to get with fish. In the past I have used Binox (nitrofurazone) and aquarium salt in recommended doses to treat columnaris. Remember to take carbon out of the filter. This will also destroy any live plants you have in the treated tank.

 

[mattlee]

these are the best pics i could get im affraid as they are too fast........

 

[RushingChamp28]

I'd say it's pretty safe to start treating for a bacterial infection if you haven't already. There are several broad spectrum antibiotics that should do the trick, but like I said before, I have had the best luck with Binox by Jungle (nitrofurazone) and salt following a big water change.

Since you had these fish in with your others, I would treat the barbs in the quarantine you have them and be on the lookout for any signs of infection on any of your original fish to catch them before they get out of hand.

Let me know how it goes.

 

[mattlee]

i knew i read it somewhere but couldnt find it again.....

"Adult males are more colourful and thinner than the females. In breeding season, the males will display white filaments around their mouth."

since moving them the fish are now eating very well but still have the white tips on the mouths. i have not medicated them with anything yat as i was trying to find what i had read....

could it be this ?

 

[mattlee]

"Adult males in spawning condition show white spots around the mouth. This can look like a disease but if the spots are focused around the mouth only it is probably just the spawning dress of this species."

from another website

 

[mattlee]

afterbeing in a tank alone the barbs mouths have returned back to normal with a few extra water changes. ill put this one down to stress i think.....